Microbial communities in deep subsurface aquifer associated with coal-bed methane production Raw sequence reads

Microbial community of subsurface environments remains understudied due to the limited access to deep strata and aquifers. The extraction of coal-bed methane (CBM) is associated with large amount of wells pumping water out of coal seams. The CBM boreholes provide access to deep biotopes associated with coal-bed water. Temperature is one of the key constraints for the distribution and activity of subsurface microorganisms, including sulfate-reducing prokaryotes.